Real Estate Lawyer Fees in Ontario (2026): A Transparent Breakdown
If you are buying or selling a home, real estate lawyer fees in Ontario are one closing cost you cannot skip — the law…
Services
Real estate work for North York clients
The same services described on our real estate law page, applied to North York’s mix of condo towers, older detached houses and rebuilds. For wills, immigration and notary work, see our North York page.
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Buying a condo or house
Agreement review, title and execution searches, title insurance, your mortgage and both land transfer taxes, through to registration.
Fee by price — instant quote -
Selling
Answering the buyer’s requisitions, paying out and discharging your mortgage, and your proceeds on closing day.
Fee by price — instant quote -
Condo status certificate review
Written notes on the reserve fund, special assessments, lawsuits and rental rules, inside your condition period. Complimentary if we close your purchase.
$250 + HST -
Pre-construction agreement review
A new North York condo from the builder: a written review of the agreement and disclosure statement inside your 10 days.
$450 + HST -
Refinancing
A new lender at renewal, or equity to renovate or add units to a house you own.
Fee by mortgage amount — instant quote -
Title transfers
Adding a spouse or adult child to title, or taking someone off, with the land transfer tax analysis.
Quoted individually
Land transfer tax
Two land transfer taxes, at North York prices
North York has been part of the City of Toronto since amalgamation in 1998. A purchase here pays Ontario’s land transfer tax and the City’s municipal land transfer tax, and on a detached house the two together are often the largest closing cost after the down payment.
For a home with one or two single-family residences, Ontario’s brackets are 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, 2% up to $2,000,000 and 2.5% above that (as of 2026). Toronto’s brackets match Ontario’s up to $3,000,000, so below that line the City’s tax equals the provincial one.
| Price | Ontario | City of Toronto | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $700,000 | $10,475 | $10,475 | $20,950 |
| $1,500,000 | $26,475 | $26,475 | $52,950 |
| $2,000,000 | $36,475 | $36,475 | $72,950 |
| $2,500,000 | $48,975 | $48,975 | $97,950 |
| $3,000,000 | $61,475 | $61,475 | $122,950 |
Above $3,000,000, Toronto charges graduated luxury rates, which rose again on April 1, 2026. The City publishes the current MLTT rates, and we work from those on any purchase in that range.
First-time buyers who have never owned a home anywhere may get up to $4,000 back from Ontario and up to $4,475 from the City, $8,475 in total. On a $700,000 condo that halves the bill to about $12,475; on a $2,000,000 house it barely registers. Both taxes are paid on closing from your own funds, not the mortgage. The same house north of Steeles, in Vaughan or Markham, pays the provincial tax only.
Why Wannes Law
A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed
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A licensed Ontario lawyer
Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.
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Fees before you commit
Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.
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Every step explained
Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.
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Direct access
Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.
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Sign in person or remotely
Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.
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English, Armenian and Arabic
Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.
Condos
Condos in North York Centre, Sheppard East and Bayview Village
Yonge Street between Sheppard and Finch, and the Sheppard East and Bayview Village corridors, are lined with condominium towers, from recent buildings to ones now old enough to need major repairs. Three things decide whether a unit is a good buy.
The status certificate
Make a resale offer conditional on reviewing it. The corporation must deliver it within 10 days of the request and payment, for no more than $100, as the Condominium Authority of Ontario explains. In an older tower, read the reserve fund study for what it says about windows, balconies, garages and elevators in the next few years, and check whether a special assessment is already on the table. Our guide to the status certificate lists what we look for.
If you plan to rent it out
A long-term tenant is the usual plan, and Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax is the rule to know: every owner declares the unit’s occupancy each year, and a unit empty for six months or more is taxed at 3% of its assessed value (as of 2026). If you are thinking of short stays instead, Toronto allows short-term rentals only in your own principal residence, with a City registration and a limit of 180 nights a year for the whole home, and many condo declarations prohibit them outright. An investment unit can’t be run as a short-term rental.
Parking, lockers and the declaration
A parking space or locker may be a separate titled unit, an exclusive-use common element or a licence from the corporation. The agreement and the status certificate should match what you think you are buying.
Houses
Bungalow lots, rebuilds and multiplexes
Much of Willowdale, Newtonbrook, Don Mills and York Mills was built in the 1950s and 1960s as bungalows on generous lots. Many now sell to buyers who plan to renovate, rebuild or add units.
Since May 2023, Toronto permits multiplexes of up to four units in residential zones across the city, including by converting an existing house, and a garden suite in the back yard is permitted in most residential zones (it can’t be severed and sold on its own). Height, lot coverage, setbacks and the Building Code still apply to every lot, and six-unit permissions depend on the area. If the plan depends on what you can build, make the offer conditional on your designer’s or planner’s review, and give that condition enough days.
What the title search tends to turn up
Older North York lots come with old surveys, mutual driveway easements, utility easements and, on some streets, restrictive covenants registered decades ago. Fences, sheds and garages are not always on the lot line. We review the title and explain what title insurance does and doesn’t cover; if you plan to build near a boundary, a new survey is worth ordering too.
Tenants and vacant possession
If the house has a basement tenant, settle in the agreement whether you are getting it vacant. A tenancy normally survives a sale, and a home that isn’t vacant on closing is priced beyond our standard fee. If a relative’s estate is selling, the estate trustee usually needs the court’s certificate first: our North York probate page explains the timing.
How it works
A North York closing, handled from Sheppard Ave E
Our office is in Toronto, further east along Sheppard Avenue. You can come in to sign, but nothing in a standard purchase or sale requires it.
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Step 1: Send us the accepted offer
Email the agreement, amendments and waivers while your conditions are still open, and for a condo the status certificate the day you receive it. We flag anything in the agreement, the certificate or the listing that should be raised before you firm up, such as a tenancy, a rental water heater or an unusual closing date.
You provide
- Agreement of purchase and sale and amendments
- Status certificate, for a condo
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Step 2: Your numbers before you sign
The instant quote gives our legal fee for your price. Before signing you see the statement of adjustments, both land transfer taxes, any first-time buyer refunds and the exact amount to bring to close.
The standard fee applies when we have the agreement and mortgage instructions at least five business days before closing.
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Step 3: Title, lender and insurance
We search title and executions, requisition anything the seller must fix, arrange title insurance through Stewart Title, and check your lender’s instructions against your commitment so there are no surprises in closing week.
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Step 4: Sign by video or in person
We verify your identity and go through each document with you by video while you sign on paper, then you courier the originals back. If you prefer, sign at our Toronto office instead.
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Step 5: Closing day and after
The transfer and mortgage are registered electronically, both taxes are paid, funds go to the seller’s lawyer and your keys are released. You then receive a reporting letter with your registered documents and title insurance policy.
Fees
What it costs
Flat fees for the two reviews. For a purchase, sale or refinance, the instant quote calculates the legal fee from your price before you retain us.
ServiceWhat's includedFee
Review of the full status certificate package, written lawyer's notes and recommendations, and a phone call with the lawyer to go through them. Complimentary if you complete the purchase with Wannes Law.
$250+ HST
Review of the pre-construction agreement, written lawyer's notes and recommendations, and a phone call with the lawyer to go through them.
$450+ HST
Purchase, sale or refinance
Calculated from the price or mortgage amount. The standard fee covers a residential single-family home on city services, vacant on closing, with one first mortgage.
B-lender or alternative lender mortgage
Added when the mortgage isn’t from one of the major banks listed in the quote.
+ $400 + HST
Not included: disbursements, the title insurance premium set by Stewart Title, and both land transfer taxes. How real estate lawyer fees in Ontario add up
Get your instant quoteQuestions
North York real estate questions
Do you have an office in North York?
No. Our only office is at 3319 Sheppard Ave E, Suite 103, in Toronto. North York clients can sign there, or review the documents with us by video while signing on paper and courier the originals back.
How much land transfer tax is there on a $1,500,000 house in North York?
About $26,475 to Ontario and $26,475 to the City of Toronto, roughly $52,950 in total (as of 2026). First-time buyer refunds are capped at $8,475 combined, and above $3,000,000 Toronto’s luxury rates apply.
Can I rent out my North York condo on Airbnb?
Only if it is your principal residence, you register with the City, and the condo’s declaration and rules allow it. An investment unit you don’t live in can’t be used as a short-term rental in Toronto; a long-term lease is the usual route.
Can I turn a North York bungalow into a fourplex?
Toronto permits up to four units in residential zones citywide, including by converting an existing house, but each project still has to meet zoning limits such as height and lot coverage, and the Building Code. Confirm the plan works before your conditions expire.
Do I pay the Vacant Home Tax on a condo I bought to rent?
Not if it was occupied for at least six months of the year, for example by a tenant. You still have to declare its status to the City every year; if no declaration is made, the City treats it as vacant.
We are buying in North York and selling elsewhere. Can you do both?
Yes. We act on the sale and the purchase, the quote prices them together, and we line the closings up so your sale proceeds can fund the purchase. If the purchase closes first, raise bridge financing with your lender early.
Should we update our wills when we buy?
It’s a good moment, especially if the house is your largest asset or you are buying with a partner. How you take title, as joint tenants or tenants in common, affects what happens on a death. See wills for North York families.
Guides
Guides for North York buyers and sellers
Condo Status Certificate Review in Toronto: What to Check Before You Buy
A status certificate review by a real estate lawyer is one of the most important steps in any condo purchase in Ontario.
Real Estate Lawyer Disbursements in Ontario: What Each One Costs
Real estate lawyer disbursements are third party costs that your lawyer pays to complete your transaction. The legal fee covers the firm's own work.…
Related
Related pages
Areas We Serve
Real estate across Toronto and the GTA
The same service for buyers and sellers in Scarborough, Markham and across Durham, York and Peel regions, each with its own land transfer tax position and local housing rules.
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Scarborough
Real estate lawyer for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.
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North York
Real estate lawyer for North York clients.
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Markham
Real estate lawyer for Markham clients.
Here to help
See both taxes and our fee before you firm up.
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